FROM THE ARCHIVE: In the Thick of the Weather with Will Nunley Artwork

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Everything Weather Podcast

FROM THE ARCHIVE: In the Thick of the Weather with Will Nunley

November 10, 2025 • Kyle David • Episode 34

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In the second of two special "FROM THE ARCHIVE" episodes of the Everything Weather Podcast, we talk with Will Nunley, Senior National Correspondent for Weather Nation and president of Nunley Media. Will shares his journey into the weather world, driven by personal experiences with severe weather events and his early career in broadcasting. The conversation touches on his coverage of major weather events like Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Michael, and devastating floods in the U.S. Will also reflects on the human aspects of weather reporting and the evolution of weather technology.

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About the Everything Weather Podcast

A weekly podcast where we talk with people about the weather world, explore and discuss everything weather and the many things that connect to it, and have a little fun along the way. The podcast is hosted and produced by Kyle David, a meteorologist and digital science content producer based in New Jersey.

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Kyle David: 0:10

Hello and welcome to the Everything Weather Podcast, where we talk with people about the weather world, explore and discuss everything weather, and have a little fun along the way. I'm your host, Kyle David, and this is the second of two from the archive episodes that were in the works, but were not fully completed. Due to time restraints, I still wanted to release these episodes to thank the people who put in their time and energy into planning them recording these episodes.'cause there's a lot that goes into it that you don't get to see. Now, before we get into this episode, I do have a couple of notes for this episode as well as some updates on the podcast. Firstly, I'm excited to share that the podcast has now passed 1500 downloads since launching last year, and it's almost a year to the day since we launched the Everything Weather Podcast. It may not sound like a lot, but this has been super exciting for me to see this small little podcast reach so many people across the country, the United States, and even across the world. There are even people that have tuned in from Germany, Canada, France, the uk, so many other places, uh, can not have imagined a. Reaching so many different people across the world. So thank you so much for making this a reality. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast and listening to me share my passion as well as other people's passion for the weather and their stories as well. And Secondly, and probably the biggest update. This will also be the final episode of the Everything Weather Podcast before we go on hiatus. Now, I did talk about this a little bit in the Stephen d Martino episode, but I wanted to put it again here before getting into this episode. I wanted to get into the reason why we're pausing the podcast, so I'm putting the podcast on pause for now so I can concentrate on my new responsibilities at a, B, C News and the many other prospects within the world of weather and climate that. Will be coming my way. This includes collaborating with the weather climate team there, including Ginger Z, who has been nothing but supportive and encouraging in my career, and I've enjoyed learning from her. She is 20 plus years in the business and within meteorology, and getting to learn from her, not just with the weather, but also the climate as well has been really fun for me while I valued the fun and insightful conversations and experiences that I've gained and the connections that I've made along the way. While doing this podcast, I want to be able to focus on what's ahead for me, for my career, not just with a b, C news, but also within the world of weather, climate, and even journalism as well as I get to dabble a little bit in that as well. And now this is important. This is not permanent. Goodbye. Rather just see you later as I expect to resume the Everything Weather Podcast at some point in the future. Now to get more into this episode, which is why you're listening, this episode features a conversation I had with Will Nunley. He's the Senior national Correspondent for Weather Nation and he is also the owner and president of his own media company, Nunley Media. You'll hear more about his weather story, how he got into the business of getting into the thick of the weather and telling the weather story during multiple major weather events, and also the personal challenges that he's navigated in the industry. We'll have a break in the middle for our final part of the special multi-part. On this day in weather history segment on Hurricane Katrina. If you want to listen to all those from beginning to end, we have a special David's deep dive episode dedicated to that and that has some extra content for you as well in that episode. And we'll also at the end of the conversation, have an interactive weather or not trivia for you, the listener to play along with. And finally, before we get into this episode, I'd like to get. Finally, before we get into this episode, I would like to dedicate this episode to my grandfather, my popup, who recently passed away. He was a lot of things to me from loving grandfather to guiding mentor, and he was a big factor in me going to Rutgers to pursue my meteorology degree as he was also a Rutgers alum, and I wanted to be just like him. He was a very hard worker. He lived his life unapologetically and he loved his family and friends fiercely. And he also made it possible for me to not only pursue my degree in meteorology at Rutgers, but also my master's in communications with Johns Hopkins, and he constantly pushed me to be. A better person every day. So without him I would not be where I am today and the podcast would likely not exist, whether there's love, his support, and his guidance. So thank you so much to my grandfather, my pop-up. I love you so much and I hope you hear this somewhere. And with that said, let's finally get into the episode today. I am joined by Will Nunley. He is a senior national correspondent at Weather Nation and he is also the owner of his own media company. Nunley Media Will. Thank you so much for joining me on the podcast.

Will Nunley: 5:30

Hey, Kal Ks great to be here. Thank you for having me.

Kyle David: 5:33

Absolutely. I'm looking forward to our conversation and talking about everything weather, but before we get into our conversation, I've got a fun game for you. What is on the weather person's playlist? So what is on your playlist you give through the workday, talking about the weather going from state to state, city to city.

Will Nunley: 5:53

Well, I have a lot of country music ties because I live in Middle Tennessee, so here around the Nashville area. We all sing whether we can or not. That just comes with the territory. So there's lots of, even some country music songs written over the years that have some weather themes like Joe Nichols, sunny and 75. I like that one a lot. Hurricane Luke Combs, I think is, who's that? We all know that one. So just, I try to keep upbeat and, uh, mainly country focused just because those are my roots here in Middle Tennessee.

Kyle David: 6:22

All right, very good. That's, you got a couple of songs there. If you had to give like a definitive playlist, like five songs. For getting through your day to day, covering the weather. Oh. What are the songs that are on that playlist?

Will Nunley: 6:35

Oh, gosh. I don't know right off hand what that would be. Maybe adding in, of course, the traditional thunder rolls with Garth Brooks. I don't know. We can have fun and go hot to go keep something a little bit more current and

Kyle David: 6:51

that, that,

Will Nunley: 6:51

let's

Kyle David: 6:52

see. That's, that's an interesting pick, I will say,

Will Nunley: 6:54

I mean, hey, I'm down with the Times. Okay. I don't know. I'll have to get back to you on what the other ones are. I probably should have researched that a little bit better, but

Kyle David: 7:02

No, that's fine. Hey, I, you've got some interesting taste in music there. I've heard a couple of those songs, but I, I'll admit Hot to Go is, yeah, I can't say a picture. Do you putting that on your playlist?

Will Nunley: 7:12

Absolutely. It's even funnier. A weather vehicle going down the road to a hurricane, it's even more appropriate.

Kyle David: 7:20

All right. I didn't think about that. That's interesting that you mentioned that. I. Well, I, I gotta say that's probably the most interesting weather person's playlist I've talked about so far. The

Will Nunley: 7:31

more selections than them. That's just the start. We'll just say that.

Kyle David: 7:36

All right. That's a very interesting start. I will give you that. I think that's probably the most memorable weather person's playlists we've talked about so far. Um, and you talked about hurricanes driving down the h you know, to cover a hurricane, listening to Hot to Go. I think that's a perfect segue to get into talking about the weather and a little bit about what got you interested in the weather. And every person I have on the podcast, I ask them, what is your weather story? So tell me, will, what is your weather story and what got you interested in everything weather?

Will Nunley: 8:08

Well, I think it's, it's the universal topic. It's a thing that affects all of us, and I've always had a very healthy respect for weather. I actually have a pretty. Significant fear, I would say a healthy respect for what goes on around me. I'm not one who stands out in weather conditions and thinks that I'm invincible and the weather does not discriminate. It's a powerful force. So I'm fascinated by it, and I would say that what really ignited things for me, and that's a bad pun for what's about to happen here. When I was 14 years old having my birthday party, it was summertime, August, I was getting ready to have everybody over to the backyard. And about an hour before my party was supposed to start, we had a little summertime thunderstorm happen in middle Tennessee and a bolt of lightning struck our detached family garage and sent our garage into flames very quickly with my dog inside and a lot of our belongings. And, uh, so we rushed outside to try to give her everything out. The dog made it out because the dog actually just burst through the fiberglass garage door and got himself out and he was okay. But, so I had, let's see, four fire trucks and about 35 firemen there for my birthday. So it, we had little extra folks in attendance there, and it took us a while to get things going back with a garage, but that was a very up close and personal experience with weather at a relatively young age.

Kyle David: 9:33

Yeah, I think you said it earlier. I can see that igniting your passion Yes. For yes. You know, the weather and stuff. Uh, that

Will Nunley: 9:40

was the spark that started it all. Yes.

Kyle David: 9:43

So tell me a little bit more, like from that moment on, like what made you want to pursue your career and talking about the weather, telling the weather story. He and the industry talk about it.

Will Nunley: 9:55

Well, it was, we live in an actor. I live and grew up in an active weather zone in Middle Tennessee. We get a lot of tornadic activity, we get a lot of heavy rain lighting activity. I mean, we get, we run the full gamut of four seasons worth of weather impacts. And so where I live in Middle Tennessee, we have very distinct seasons. And so there's always something different happening with the weather. We don't have a ton of consistency, so there's always a weather story to learn or to be told. And also happened that I started in radio when I was about 15 years old and part of my job in radio starting out was to do the weather reports and be there at the radio station whenever severe weather was happening in our community. So it just kind of went hand in hand with my career that not only did I have a natural fascination with the weather and wanting to observe it and then report on its impact, but that was turned out to start to be my job even at a young age.

Kyle David: 10:49

Wow. 15 and you're doing your own weather reports for your radio station. That is, that's fantastic. I don't know of any experiences today that allow you to get involved with communicating the weather at such a young age. Maybe like job shadowing and stuff, but doing your own weather hits for a radio station for hundreds of people to listen to.

Will Nunley: 11:09

Yeah, it's a testament too, to local broadcasting. I mean, there's still some opportunities out there like that, but that's the beauty of having a locally owned radio station in your town. And for me it was WG NS in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. And the owner went to my church and so our families knew each other and so I got a, a opportunity to young age and that's really what started it all for me.

Kyle David: 11:31

Awesome. And from there, like when you're doing the weather radio hits for your vocal radio station, what's the most memorable experience that you've had there?

Will Nunley: 11:41

I would say the most memorable experience came a few years later when I was 19 years old, working for a television station in Nashville, which I probably shouldn't have been working for a TV station in Nashville at 19 years old. But they hired me and I loved it and we went at it. But I was working a weekend and I was, had my first little news car. I was a photographer. I was not on air, and I got very close to an area where damage had happened and a tree actually fell on the front of the news car while I was on the air doing a phoner with our meteorologist. And so that again, reiterated the need to have a healthy respect for weather, to learn how to navigate into storm zones. When you have areas that have lost power, you don't have the street lights you're used to, you don't have the red lights and everything functioning. And so there are so many different things that can come at you fast from down trees and power lines. In my case, a tree that was on the verge of snapping and did just happen to do it while my little news car was traveling under it. So I remember that distinctly. I also remember having to call my news director the next day and explain what just happened, um, at such a young age, but fortunately they let me off light because they said it sounded like great TV and they're glad that everybody was safe. So all's well in the end, but that was certainly one of those moments that make you realize how, how quickly things can change.

Kyle David: 13:03

Absolutely. And just based off the stories you told me so far, it seems like the weather seems to find you very frequently rather than it does. You find the weather.

Will Nunley: 13:12

It does. You're right. So I couldn't escape it even if I wanted to.

Kyle David: 13:18

Definitely. Yeah. So, wow that at 19 you were doing stuff for a local news station in, in Nashville, you know, when did you realize, hey, I wanna make a full-time career outta this, I wanna do this for the rest of my life?

Will Nunley: 13:32

Well, if you're talking about broadcasting in general, I've, there's never been a doubt that's always what I've wanted to do. I was just born with a microphone in my hand, as they say. That's just, uh, there's just some folks that are lucky to grow up or know exactly what they want to do from a young age. And I've always wanted to do, be on radio and television. I enjoy the career very much. It's all I've ever done. And the weather over the years is just slowly. Taken a larger and larger component of not only my fascination, but something that I enjoy doing and something that I immerse myself in. And I've done general assignment reporting for several TV stations in Augusta, Georgia, Savannah, Georgia, Atlanta. But especially with my Atlanta experience, I started to really get involved heavily in storm coverage. Our news director at the time, Mike McLean, he was actually one of the founding crew and original crew that started Fox Weather. He was my news director in Atlanta. And Mike saw my fascination, recognize that in me, and allowed me to participate in assignments covering a whole lot more hurricanes and storms in our specialty vehicles. And so that's when I really ramped up the focus in a lot of my Atlanta reporting. But of course, I've covered hurricanes throughout my career. Going back to Hurricane Katrina when I covered it in Jackson, Mississippi as a young TV reporter.

Kyle David: 14:53

Wow. Talk. Talk a little bit about that experience covering Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi.

Will Nunley: 14:58

It was my first major that I can remember. I was not working as an on air reporter very long before our station group said, Hey, we need to send in extra resources to help. Of course. And so I was sent from my TV station in Savannah, Georgia to go and help our sister station and it was they, it was an overwhelming experience. It was days and days of kind of us fighting for food and fuel and trying to keep ourselves together. I can remember just a lot of very long days and observing that as a young reporter and the emotional toll, the emotional impact of that, trying to not only witness an experience like this. But then communicate it effectively, organize your thoughts, stay calm, not get emotional, because you get attached to what you're seeing. You wish in those moments you had the ability to help everyone around you, but those aren't really our jobs. Our jobs are to bear witness report, get the information out so that other organizations that are qualified to help people can come in and do that. So it's, I will never forget it. I will, I'll never forget what a tremendous learning experience that was for me early in my career, but I saw firsthand a tremendous amount. Of course, I don't have to tell you how devastating that hurricane was and to witness a lot of it even well into the Jackson, Mississippi, Southern Mississippi area.

Kyle David: 16:24

Yeah, I mean, I don't recall it firsthand because I was only but a child at the time, very young. As an adult now, and looking, being able to look back at, you know what? Events like that had done. Katrina I think is one of those that just will stand out for a very long time, if not forever. Um, tell me a little bit more about like what you were feeling when you were covering the during and the after of Hurricane Katrina.

Will Nunley: 16:51

I think that there was so much to cover. It was, that was the most overwhelming memory I think I have is everywhere we went, there was a story I can remember a point where I actually got pretty emotional doing a story. We were not live, but we were in a grocery store north of Jackson, Mississippi, I think. And I was standing in a checkout line interviewing a. Gentleman who had about four or five, just vast, just carts full of food and supplies. And I was interviewing 'cause he said, I'm going down to a place in southern Mississippi, a very small town that nobody knows that, no one's there helping. And so I was able to get out, get up here, and I'm taking everything I can. And so while I was conducting my this interview, my photographer was several feet away. An older woman came up with a wad of cash in her hand and said, I just heard what you were saying and I want to help you. And I think we were three or four days into coverage at this point. And that gesture in that moment, they were complete strangers and she just walked right up, handed this guy a wad of cash and says, let me take care of this. I just heard what you just said. And those are gestures that are repeated, of course, with every disaster we have across the country because we have a country of great people that want to help. But when you are several days into 14, 16 hour days of coverage, and as a young person taking that in, I can remember that moment. I had to really. Pause. I kind of lost it actually in that moment. And, and that's what people do. They not only come together, but they fight for their towns, they fight for their neighbors, and he was telling us about how difficult it is to navigate through destruction, through flooding, through down trees and power lines to, to try to get some food for people. So it's, things like that always stand out. But I, even with the powerful images that come with the negative side and the destructive side of storms, it's those moments that I will also never forget when you see people become exceptional and do exceptional things and be very generous with one another, that also stick out.

Kyle David: 18:58

Yeah. I always, I personally always love hearing stories like that. I mean, I don't like to hear about the, or see about the devastation that. Any sort of weather can bring to any community, whether it's a small town or a big city, nobody likes to see that. But being able to see people pull together and come together, help each other out, I always like hearing those kinds of stories. And it sounds like at a very emotional experience from you and very likely, a pivotal moment in your career. How did that change your career outlook, your path in your career going forward?

Will Nunley: 19:34

I think that it gave you a little bit more courage to keep going when you witness people in these moments, what you'd say as everyday people like I am and anyone else's, that you witness their extraordinary efforts. It does motivate you. And part of what I, why I do what I do. I'm not a meteorologist, don't claim to be, don't play one on tv. But what I do enjoy about my job and being connected to the weather community is how. When used the right way, when communicated responsibly by professionals or people who understand what they're communicating, we have the ability to do a lot of good, we have a lot of ability with the technology we have now to warn people days in advance, sometimes even longer, of serious, impactful weather. And I think that's part of what motivates me to this day, is seeing how much technology has changed in my career, how much it's improved, how much incredible information we have at our fingertips now. And I enjoy being part of the choir of voices that help to inform people, to encourage them to take things seriously when it's warranted and, and hopefully save lives in the progress process.

Kyle David: 20:45

Yeah, and to be honest with you, this is my own take here. I'm not sure you know who shares this opinion. I feel that you know what you do. What. People out in the field do is just as important as talking about what is happening, what will happen in the future.'cause communicating that what has happened and what is currently happening, I feel is just as important in telling the weather story, telling people what is going on with the weather.

Will Nunley: 21:11

Mm-hmm. Yeah. And you just think about the, not to get too philosophical about it, but just think about how much we know now and what a blessing that is compared to generations and of our parents and their parents, that that did not fully understand the scale, the magnitude of storms, especially hurricanes before they moved in. And now we can predict within miles of exactly where a hurricane is gonna make landfall days in advance. I mean, that is incredible. That is powerful. And I enjoy being part of, again, that, that landscape of people out in the field, in the studio, beyond trying to really message that to our neighbors out.

Kyle David: 21:52

Absolutely. And if think about like 70 years ago, we didn't even have the capability to see storms coming in. Satellites are, are only about 70 years old that

Will Nunley: 22:04

right.

Kyle David: 22:04

Go back to the fifties and stuff. So technology has really evolved over the last few decades, the past century. It's impressive. But I wanna go back to your career after covering Katrina in Jackson, Mississippi. Where did your career take you from there?

Will Nunley: 22:22

I stayed in Savannah, Georgia for a while and then went to Augusta and again, the Augusta, Georgia. In that region, we got several Atlantic hurricanes that would make landfall and I couldn't even go back again. We're talking 20 plus years at this point, so naming hurricanes is not gonna happen. The the impactful hurricanes, it would've fallen anywhere from, I mean, I would travel from Jacksonville and on up through Myrtle Beach. They would travel us for those storms. So I had a lot of experience doing a lot of storms early on, and then again, as technology got better, as our ability to communicate, the weather in real time got better. That's when later on in my career I was able to use a lot more technology, travel a lot more, and really get into the storms.

Kyle David: 23:09

Just outta curiosity, what is the most memorable place that you've covered weather so far?

Will Nunley: 23:16

Ooh. I would probably say Hurricane Michael. I was very close, very close to Michael, and rode Michael out in a, the third level of a parking garage, and I believe I was in Panama City Beach. I wasn't, I was probably only about 30 minutes away or less from Mexico Beach, where I believe it had its direct landfall. But watching Michael come through with a panoramic view from a parking garage, which is commonly where I and other correspondence will cover hurricanes from in the moment, is you have storm chasers that will get out and get a little bit closer, but typically for us, where a pace back and so it's easier to cover something from a parking garage. It's a safer structure. The wind's able to move through it. We can go higher if we need to, and watching the landscape be torn apart. Watching the explosions of the transformers, watching trees come down, hearing all of the creeks and hearing glass shatter, watching roofs be removed. All of this was just, Michael was a daytime storm, or at least in an afternoon storm. And so I was able to see this all happen very clearly in front of me.

Kyle David: 24:31

Yeah, it's kind of irony in a way, nature undoing nature and all the things that man has built in different areas, so it's an irony to it.

Will Nunley: 24:42

Yeah, it's a, it's amazing. And again, those, there, there's always something that I feel with every hurricane I cover, and if you've never been involved in a hurricane, folks on the ground and you've never been through one, and luckily, hopefully you haven't, but if you've never lived through one, there comes the point, a couple of hours in where you start to say, when is this gonna end? When is this gonna stop? Because hurricanes take so long to move through in a lot of cases, and when we study a tornado, it drops down. It's fast. Yes, it's destructive, it's powerful, but it typically only lasts a matter of minutes. And then most of the hazard is gone. A hurricane is just like you're trapped in a tornado and every, you're just watching everything around. You give way and break down and you can't help but think, when is this going to stop after hours and hours of watching that destruction? So that feeling never leaves me. I never get used to that no matter how many times I do this job.

Kyle David: 25:39

Yeah, and to answer your question, have I ever been involved, like in experiencing a hurricane? For me, it was Sandy 2012. Oh yeah. I was 12 years old. I was very well inland, not even like near the coast. And I specifically remember that storm. Um. It was very memorable, very ingrained in my memory. And I'll admit that's probably one of the, uh, driving factors for me getting involved in the weather. And it wasn't even a hurricane, technically, people will argue. Yeah, it's not technically a hurricane, but it was just as impactful for the Jersey Shore, the Northeast. It was just, as you described it, it's just waiting for it to end. It

Will Nunley: 26:20

was, and I lost some friends during Superstorm Sandy, even though I don't believe that I covered it. Probably as close or experienced it as close as you did. But when I was a young reporter in Savannah, Georgia, one of my jobs was to learn about life on a wooden tall ship replica of the HMS Bounty. And I sailed with a crew for several days and years and years later. Of course, this was many years later when Sandy rolled through, the bounty could not escape because it was a built, like a wooden tall ship could not escape fast enough. The changing weather conditions. And unfortunately it sank with the captain and crew on board. Some of the crew survived. Some, the crew did not. So, yeah, it you think about Mariners too that, that go through these storms just as well as us on land do.

Kyle David: 27:06

Yeah, I heard about that story with the HMS Bounty. I did not realize that you knew some of those people on that ship.

Will Nunley: 27:13

I did. It was a beautiful, it was used in the, uh, movie set, a mutiny on the bounty, and it, it was a, basically traveled as an educational vessel. And my assignment one time as a young reporter was to sail with it from Jacksonville to Savannah, and that took four days. That's how they didn't, you only move with a wind. They didn't move very fast. So, but that is part of, part of its story too, as to why it could not escape, because it just did not have quite the powerful engines and everything that then other vessels do. So that's why unfortunately it was caught up in the storm, but yeah.

Kyle David: 27:48

Wow. Yeah. And. I mean it's sad in a way, even though it happened like 12 of years ago, it, it still kind of makes me sad 'cause

Will Nunley: 27:55

I think about it all the time. I really do. I have a replica of the bounty in my home and my mantle and I keep it. There is a reminder of those folks, their memory and I have a lot of very happy memories from that crew. But that again is just another aspect and that's just one story outta so many that people can tell from Sandy. I mean that was the storm that hit because of where it struck, how much population was wrapped up into it. There are so many millions of people that have stories now of a storm like that. And that again, just shows you this universal topic that we can all kind of gather around and learn about and as part of the fascination that we all have with it.

Kyle David: 28:35

Yeah, and honestly we could do like a dedicated podcast on all of the different weather stories and specifically solely with Sandy.'cause there were so many people that it impacted. And each person has their own story in a way.

Will Nunley: 28:48

Absolutely.

Kyle David: 28:50

So that said, like of all the stories that you've covered, you've been all very much all over the country in a way and covering specific events and stuff. So you went from Nashville to Augusta? No, Savannah to Augusta, I believe, if that

Will Nunley: 29:07

correct. And then from Augusta, like I said, it's, I've made a lot of hops in my career as TV people often do. But uh, after that, it's safe to say that most of my time was spent in Atlanta. So I spent, uh, four or five years in Atlanta with the local Fox station. And then I started working on projects at home with our, my little radio stations that I have. And my home is just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. I have a farm. And so I've also, at some point in that, and I can't remember when 2016 maybe started to build a small radio company in Tennessee where I have roots and so. I would travel a lot and go back and forth between Atlanta and Tennessee for work. And then after a stint at Fox TV in Atlanta, I would join Weather Nation for the first time and really traveled more broadly with just a focus on weather. When I was with my local TV stations, I still did day in and day out news stories as well, but really being dedicated full-time to weather, started with Weather Nation, which was about 2019 for me.

Kyle David: 30:08

Yeah. Tell me a little bit more about your time with Weather Nation.'cause you still work with them now, but this is a different experience in its own.

Will Nunley: 30:15

It was and it's, it was great. I remember I was covering, I was covering a storm in Savannah, Georgia, on Tybee Island as a matter of fact with, with one of my stations. And here comes this Weather Nation truck pulling up and. One of the correspondence at the time, Tony Russell came out and I looked at him and pointed at him and said, how do I do what you do? What do you mean you get to travel everywhere and do weather? How do I wanna do that? How, how do I do that? And we had a great conversation and I eventually ended up meeting the team at Weather Nation and. They're based in Denver and uh, they're a great crew. It's a, it's a unique operation. They are a little engine that could, they are a great group of people that work exceptionally hard and have a very broad reach across our country. Weather Nation can be found on pretty much every platform for free. Always has been that way. They've been a leader with that is making themselves so accessible for people to be able to watch. But it's with Weather Nation that they sent me to New York City for my first time to go cover a snowstorm. I had never done that. I knew nothing about New York City, but of course, it's not just hurricanes. We have all kinds of weather that we have to cover. And so that was one of many experiences with them. And of course we count covered countless tornadic events as well.

Kyle David: 31:36

Just outta curiosity, do you remember what snow event that was that you covered in New York?

Will Nunley: 31:42

I don't, I, and it would've been before, I wanna say it was before the pandemic, or maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was at the very start. Gosh, I don't remember. I don't know that it was extremely paralyzing, but it was one that there, there were a lot of great videos that came out about it because it was a pretty significant snowfall for the city. And I remember seeing a lot of video in Times Square, and it may have been around the time that the pandemic was just starting, but, 'cause I can remember people like running and sliding on the grates in Times Square and it being relatively empty at that time. So I'd have to go back and look up those dates for you. But that was, that's a good memory. That was not a snow emergency. It was just a beautiful snowfall for New York City. So it was a good story to cover.

Kyle David: 32:31

And I'm trying to remember in my, 'cause I've been in the northeast for quite some time in the New York City metro, so I'm trying to remember like, okay, what could've. What was, what possible

Will Nunley: 32:43

what? I won't have to go back on my Facebook timeline and get used that answer because I, that's one of those things is I have covered so many storms and been in so many places. I wish I kept a better diary in front of me to be able to go back and and trace some of these down on the spot. But it would've been 20 19, 20 20 I believe, and that happened.

Kyle David: 33:01

Hey, there you go. Weather diary and you, who knows, maybe that gets turned into a book.

Will Nunley: 33:06

I know. Should be.

Kyle David: 33:08

Absolutely. We still got so much more to talk about with your experiences with Weather Nation, your own company, and overall in reflections, but don't go anywhere. We're gonna come right back after a quick break in this special five part edition of On This Day Weather History. We conclude our revisit of one of the most devastating hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin. Hurricane Katrina. After raking through Mississippi and Alabama, Katrina moved to inland and weakened rapidly. By August 30th, it had become a tropical storm over Tennessee. Then by August 31st, it transitioned to a remnant low as it moved into the Ohio Valley. But despite losing strength, the remnants of Katrina still produced heavy rain and severe weather across the Midwest and northeast before dissipating completely on September 1st in New Orleans, rescue operations were hindered by widespread flooding, impassable roads, and hot temperatures with 80% of the city underwater. Tens of thousands of people were stranded on rooftops in attics, or within the sweltering confines of the Superdome and the Earnest and Morial Convention Center, both of which quickly became overwhelmed and under-resourced food, water and medical surprise were scarce and conditions were deteriorating rapidly. National Guard troops were mobilized to provide aid and distribute much needed resources. On August 29th, however, the limited three ways due to flood waters and storm damage took time for troops to get to certain parts of the city. By then, tens of thousands of residents had became trapped in horrific conditions at the Superdome, the convention center, and submerged buildings without food, water, or proper sanitation. The evacuation of the remaining residents was a massive undertaking with the effort taking multiple days and refugees scattered across the country. In one of the largest internal migrations in the United States' history, more than 700,000 people were displaced from their homes in New Orleans. Some residents never returned to the area, altering the demographics and characteristics of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. It also took over 40 days to pump the billions of gallons of flood water out across the area. By then, the staggering death and destruction became apparent. At least 1,833 people lost their lives across the Gulf Coast, most of whom were in Louisiana and Mississippi. This made Katrina the deadliest US hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. Additionally of the more than people who lost their lives in Louisiana from Katrina, almost two thirds of the deaths were due to levy or flood wall failures. The storm caused over $125 billion in damages, making it the costliest in US history. Critical infrastructure across the region was devastated. Ports and waterways were closed. Distributing commerce throughout the Mississippi River system oils and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico was severely impact affecting national energy supplies. The destruction of refineries and pipelines created fuel shortages that extended far beyond the imminent disaster zone. In the following months and years, numerous investigations were conducted on the response at the local. State and federal levels. And in terms of what happened meteorologically with Hurricane Katrina, some investigations revealed that Katrina had disproportionately affected poor and minority communities who lacked the resources to evacuate and lived in the most flood pro areas. These findings and the many images of people stuck on rooftops in the most flood prone regions sparked a nationwide conversations about equity and storm preparedness. Other studies revealed that the levee failures were not caused by the over topping storm surge alone, but by critical design and construction flaws. These engineering failures led to a massive overhaul of the region's flood protection system. While Katrina's legacy is one of tragedy and decimation for those affected along the Gulf Coast, it was also a watershed moment that improved hurricane forecasting, storm preparedness, and disaster response. FEMA underwent major reforms. Following widespread criticism of its response, the agency changed its approach to disaster response, beginning to move resources before being requested and improving coordination with state and local officials. Investment in communications infrastructure increased dramatically, helping ensure better coordination in future disasters. Forecasting and weather communications also improved after Hurricane Katrina, the storm's rapid intensification gave forecasters and meteorologists key insights into what makes a hurricane rapid intensify new weather satellites with enhanced capabilities were deployed and computer models were improved. To better predict storm intensity changes, especially rapid intensification, these advances had led to more accurate forecasts, better early warning systems, and more comprehensive communications before and after weather events while parts of the Gulf Coast continue to heal today. Hurricane Katrina painfully remains a defining moment in American and meteorological history. It continues to be a sobering reminder of nature's unfiltered fury and the importance of resilience, equity, and preparedness in the face of utter catastrophe. As of this recording, Katrina remains tied with Hurricane Harvey as the costliest tropical cyclone on record. Katrina was the fourth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record to make landfall in the continuous United States behind the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane. Hurricane Camille in 1969 and Hurricane Michael in 2018. Due to the immense devastation and loss of life, the World Meteorological Organization retired Katrina from the Atlantic Hurricane Naming List in April, 2006. While the name would never be used again for a tropical cyclone, history would never forget the name. Katrina. Hello and welcome back to the Everything Weather Podcast. I'm your host, Kyle David, and today I'm joined by Senior National Correspondent Weather Nation and owner of Ley Media. Will Nunley. We've been talking a little bit about his experiences with the weather, so I'm very up close and personal action with the weather. It seems like you can't avoid the weather at times. We're gonna continue our conversation talking a little bit more about what he does at Weather Nation and also with his own company at not only Media, but first I've got another fun game for you. Will, are you ready?

Will Nunley: 40:17

I'm ready.

Kyle David: 40:17

All right, so we've got weather fast money, so I'm gonna give you five questions. They're a mix of questions that have been asked and surveys have been taking on them. Other ones are actual statistical questions that I just took, you know, what the values are for each answer and turn them into points for each answer based on their rankings, and we'll see where you rank at the end. Would that say,

Will Nunley: 40:42

all right, I'm ready.

Kyle David: 40:44

All right. I'm gonna actually in trial of family for you, get a timer going. I think it's like,

Will Nunley: 40:49

Kyle David: 40:50

no, two seconds or 90. I'll give you, I'll give you 90 seconds for all five questions, so not too much of rush, but make it fun in the style of Family Fe. Okay, I've got it set up on here. Can you hold on me? See? Can you see?

Will Nunley: 41:06

I can, I see. I see the official tie in there.

Kyle David: 41:09

All right, so I'm gonna. Start at the, as soon as I'm done reading the first question. So I'll read and then your timer will start. Name a type of weather condition.

Will Nunley: 41:24

A, a type of weather. Condit in general.

Kyle David: 41:26

Yes.

Will Nunley: 41:27

Dint fog.

Kyle David: 41:29

Okay. Name a country where it's snooze. Often

Will Nunley: 41:35

Antarctica.

Kyle David: 41:37

Antarctica is not a country, so try again.

Will Nunley: 41:39

Oh,

Kyle David: 41:40

sorry.

Will Nunley: 41:44

I don't know where it snows. Often. A country where it snows off in Canada.

Kyle David: 41:49

Okay. Name something you do when it's sunny.

Will Nunley: 41:54

Sundays.

Kyle David: 41:55

Okay. Name a state that sees hurricanes, make landfall over it.

Will Nunley: 42:01

Florida

Kyle David: 42:02

name a cold United States City,

Will Nunley: 42:05

Seattle.

Kyle David: 42:07

All right, we've got our answers plugged in and with plenty of time left over. So first one is name of type of weather condition, and you said dense fog survey. Survey. I

Will Nunley: 42:22

think, I think, uh, my answers show that I'm the most dense weather condition in all of this, but please continue. It's fine.

Kyle David: 42:30

Hey, you know what? It's not a matter of knowledge, it's just a matter of having fun on the podcast. So, so you said dense fog survey says a I don't have the, I don't have the fe sound effects.

Will Nunley: 42:45

No one named that. I get it. That's fine.

Kyle David: 42:47

Sunny was the number one answer.

Will Nunley: 42:50

Okay, that one makes sense.

Kyle David: 42:52

Yeah. So next one up. We have name a country where it's news often you said Canada. I wish I had the family feud sound effects that I could play. Survey says ding. That is number five. You get 10 points for that. Iceland was the number one answer.

Will Nunley: 43:11

That's where I was going. I just got my con, it's all mixed up.

Kyle David: 43:15

Oh, that's all good. Next one up is name something you do when it's sunny? You said Sunbath survey says D number one answer 29 points.

Will Nunley: 43:29

Alright.

Kyle David: 43:29

All right. Next one was name a state that sees hurricanes landfall over it. You said Florida survey says ding number one answer.

Will Nunley: 43:40

Alright.

Kyle David: 43:41

You wanna take a guess on how many hurricanes of landfall over Florida?

Will Nunley: 43:47

Oh my gosh. Like in its existence,

Kyle David: 43:50

I timeline existence. So the website that I looked at, it's all the herd debt data. I think that goes back to like the 18 hundreds. Oh. You could try and guess like a ballpark value.

Will Nunley: 44:03

Let's put, I may be way off 1, 1 50.

Kyle David: 44:07

Actually, you're not that bad. It is, from what I got, it was like one 20. It may even be more with pretor pre hurricane debt data. So yeah, it definitely in the hundreds. So, all right. Last one was name a cold US city. You said Seattle survey says, eh, or eh, whatever the X is.

Will Nunley: 44:33

Fair enough.

Kyle David: 44:34

Fairbanks, Alaska was the number one answer.

Will Nunley: 44:37

Well, yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, that I can see that.

Kyle David: 44:41

So I, I mean, I think I as, I think the most important question is, did you have fun? Okay. That's all that matters with this. So for those that are listening, let me know what you would've picked for each question. Curious to see what each of y'all are listening would pick. With that said, that wraps up our little weather fast money. And now let's get back into talking about your experiences. Right now you're a Senior National Correspondent at Weather Nation. We talked a little bit about how you got involved with Weather Nation. You had a brief time at Fox Weather, but now you're back at Weather Nation. So tell me a little bit more about like what your day to day is like Where with Weather Nation.

Will Nunley: 45:23

Well, we are constantly evaluating what, what is the impactful weather story? And Weather Nation has a big group of, um, storm spotters and storm chasers that they get out and cover the weather. And then I will go behind with the news aspect of things. I don't claim to be a storm chaser either. I've, of course, had plenty of up close experiences with weather and documenting it, but

Kyle David: 45:48

I, I feel like the proper title for you is the Storm Chased. Than Yes,

Will Nunley: 45:53

exactly. I hate exactly I, right, right, right. I'm the, I am my own form of aftermath. That's right. Or journalistic aftermath. Um, but the, and that's an important distinction because there, there are so many folks that bring you those incredible images that we see. And one thing that Weather Nation has that really stands out to me is a wonderful relationship with their audience, with the people that consume Weather Nation, either through television or through digital. That there's so many people out there that, that help fuel our coverage.'cause we all have a powerful TV camera in our pockets now with our phones. So, um, there's so many great folks around the country that help us tell the weather story every day. And so we go through and whether it be a tropical system or a a nor Easter coming in a major flood of course, of, uh, at the time of us recording this podcast right now, I've spent about a month on the road, honestly, between tropical systems and our flooding situation in east Tennessee. And really trying to get to the heart of a lot of these impactful events and make sure that we are telling those stories even after the storm's passed, to continue to bring focus to these areas and attention to them and to make sure that folks are getting the help that they need.

Kyle David: 47:02

For sure. Yeah. And during your time at Weather Nation, I mean, I know you've covered a lot of different weather events and we talked about some of them just before the break, but I wanted to know what's been your most interesting story that you've covered during your time at Weather Nation?

Will Nunley: 47:17

Well, I've covered a lot of the major storms. I would say one that had a lot of personal impact for me. One has been covering some major tornadic outbreaks in Middle Tennessee and it's very hard to report on your own backyard. I can tell you that's a challenge when you enter neighborhoods that, you know, cities that you've grown up in and you have to report on them being damaged. It's difficult sometimes. Um, I would say that this kind of goes back, I believe, to my first iteration with Weather Nation, but that was when Hurricane Zeta came through, and I think that was 2020 as well. My vehicle that I had was too close to the action and I thought I was back enough away from Storm Surge. I was not, and I watched my Ford Expedition, no, what was it? Yeah, something like that. Get. Picked up and carried down the road in storm surge. So Ford Explorer, it was, yeah. Um, and I was trapped in that moment reporting and then didn't have a vehicle. So luckily we had some chasers down the road, the part of our team that kind of helped to bail me out. But it just shows you how when you're reporting in these environments, how quickly things again can change. And even though you feel like the weather, what it's gonna do, you've been out there for years, you how you know how to take precautions. And I personally was safe, but my vehicle was not. And so, um, I learned a, another valuable lesson with the vehicle. And that's, that comes with the territory. But normally I play it safe and I'm back far enough not to see those impacts, at least in the moment. But, but that's something that, that sticks out and we make that as part of our coverage. When I experience something and I'm there in the front lines of a community that's going through something like this, I'm not embarrassed to say what happened? Look at the, look at the power of this thing. Look how it washed up. Look what it did. So I'm, I'm not experiencing anything in that moment that all those folks down there aren't. And so that's what we're there to do is tell the truth about the environment around us and how it impacts lives.

Kyle David: 49:18

Were you live at the time when your car got picked up?

Will Nunley: 49:21

I was.

Kyle David: 49:22

Oh, wow.

Will Nunley: 49:23

I was, I couldn't show it and didn't want to, I didn't want to show it because it was in the throes of some pretty heavy, heavy bands at that time, as it was actually in landfall. And so I didn't let it unfold on tv, but I did take some longer breaks after that because I had to figure out how to get myself outta that situation.

Kyle David: 49:41

I bet. Yeah, it is. I don't think it's a common experience where you're covering the weather and you're also actively thinking like, okay, how do I get myself unstuck out of this?

Will Nunley: 49:52

It's a, it's a humbling moment and it's one of those things that even all of us who cover the weather, we try to take every precaution we can. Again, we figure out routes, where can we be adjacent to the storm without putting ourselves in unnecessary danger? And I, I learned a lot of lessons that night that I will not forget and have tried to not make those same mistakes again.

Kyle David: 50:14

For sure. Yeah. We talk a lot about lessons learned in your experiences and stuff. I also wanted to talk a little bit more about, about the humanity. We talked about a little bit with Hurricane Katrina and covering storms in your own backyard, hurricane Sandy a little bit. What has been the most human experience for you in covering the weather?

Will Nunley: 50:37

Well, e each storm has that experience and I don't know that there are, there are some that, that stick out. And we've, like you said, we've talked about some of those. I think about my time with Hurricane Katrina and all the ones since then, and all the ones we've just gone through. And Ian covering, Ian, covering Michael. Um, and I also don't want to discount, or, or I think that we, it's easy to talk about the power of a hurricane because so many millions of people get wrapped up into the path of a hurricane. We watch it unfold for days. We see all the dramatic images of it. But one thing that also sticks out to me are some of the flood. Two, and again, I've covered like the Mayfield tornadoes. I've been through a lot of powerful scenes, but we have a situation in Hazard Kentucky that we covered just a couple years ago with flooding through there. And now we see the results for what's happened at the time that we're recording this in East Tennessee with the flooding there. And flooding is a, is such a flash. Flooding is such a powerful. Unpredictable, unstoppable phenomenon that you just, it is difficult to prepare for, um, and how quickly it changes the landscape. And part of what we're seeing too, how delicate the process is trying to get to mountainous regions, no matter where it happens in North Carolina and Tennessee and the mountains of Kentucky. Trying to then trace your steps and remember where houses were in some cases, because you have to understand that people move to the country and move to the mountains for privacy, and so they have a home that may be miles away from their closest neighbor down, windy, vulnerable country roads. That's part of the beauty of moving to those places. And I think that's what makes the challenge for not only first responders, but the challenge for us covering it. You feel very helpless in the moments when that's just happened, trying to reach those places and figure out just how bad a situation may be. Um, and it takes a lot of specialty equipment, takes a lot of time to reach people that are tucked away in mountains. So I think that's one thing that, um, when I've covered a lot of stories and different types of weather, that's something too that, that sticks out. That we hear the term flood and like, oh, that's sad. The river got high for a few hours, it's backed out. It's fine. They know how to handle that. It's not always the case. You know what? The folks in Hazard, Kentucky and around that area will tell you that their lives were changed, their landscape was changed forever by that. And uh, so those are some of the things that stick out to me.

Kyle David: 53:15

Yeah, I mean, flooding is a very hard thing to prepare for in that area, in any area. And to communicate it, it's an even bigger challenge, which is actually something I wanna ask you about. And not only with flooding, but overall with the weather, there's a lot of challenges with communicating what's going on the ground and with the weather. So how, how do you navigate those challenges and be able to effectively communicate what is going on and what has happened?

Will Nunley: 53:43

I think that I'm, I am fortunate to have learned from a lot of really great journalists and meteorologists about, um, staying calm in those moments and being. Concise with your thoughts, being detailed with instructions for people, not making the story about you, making the story about the weather and what is coming for people and urging them to take action when it's necessary. I'm not the type of reporter that screams unnecessarily, that tries to turn every story just to something. It doesn't have to be, but there are moments when we use so many different adjectives to describe whether that sometimes you're at a loss for them or you feel like the whole dictionary has been gone through at that point. But, um, I think it's just a matter of. Going with sources that, that, that have experience behind them. Um, a meteorologist is a great thing to have. We have a lot of great technology and a lot of different ways to consume weather. And the public has a way now to look at weather on their own and do their own research in a way that before was very challenging and didn't really even exist. Um. But I find that just making sure that the coverage we do is based and backed with experience and science, and that we do our best to calmly and clearly communicate messages and then encourage people to communicate those to their own family and say, here's what we're willing to leave you with about this storm before it hits. Now, make sure that you call two or three family members. Ask them to watch and join us and make sure that you're also, because it's powerful when you have a family member that calls you and says, do you know what's coming? Do you know how, what? What's coming down the road? Are you paying attention to this? And to encourage other people to be responsible advocates for communicating severe weather situations. We don't always wanna be that person, or no reporter wants to cry wolf and lose credibility. You pick your moments for activating people and urging them to take action. But certainly I know that my organization and how I operate personally, that we take that seriously and choose their words carefully.

Kyle David: 55:55

Absolutely, and I mean I iterated this earlier, but I'll iterate it again. I feel like you and the people out there in the field, you have just an as an important role to play in communicating the weather, not just what has happened, but what is happening and will happen. I feel that it's just as important as the people behind the scenes, the meteorologists, the on-air meteorologists. It's in a very important job. And actually,

Will Nunley: 56:20

and yeah, when it's done in concert, it's a great thing. And here's what I mean by that. I'm not afraid to admit what I don't know. Even where a continent is, I'm not afraid to admit what I don't know in terms of how, what's truly unfolding with weather, the science behind it. I enjoy being able to be honest and have a conversation with our viewers and say, now let's talk about what this is gonna mean for this particular side of the storm and where this is heading. And let our meteorologist walk people through that because they know, they understand the data and then they say, well, we'll, so show us how this town is impacting right now. You've been talking to people about today, are they worried? What are they doing? What is the mayor asking people to do? And for me to bring in the humanity and marry that with the science. And I think that combination, when you have a healthy respect, like you said, for both ends of that spectrum, um, it can be a very valuable combination for lifesaving information.

Kyle David: 57:17

Absolutely. I feel like that's something that can be applied to the meteorology side of whether communication as well.'cause there are some times where the forecast. Is very complicated. And we as meteorologists, I, I mean I can't speak for myself 'cause I'm overall not as experienced as those who have 20, 30, 40 years of forecasting experience and have much more of a better insight for these things and an instinct. But there are times where even those people are really sure of like, okay, what is really gonna unfold here? So I feel like that's something that could be shared in the meteorology world as well.

Will Nunley: 57:53

Absolutely. Yeah.

Kyle David: 57:55

And actually, I wanna go back just a moment.'cause you had talked about how easy it is for people get information now with technology and stuff, which it, it's a big plus with digital and social media. But uh, as of late we've seen some of the cons with that as well. So I wanted to ask you like, what are some of the challenges in communicating this information on digital and social media?

Will Nunley: 58:18

Well, the beauty of YouTube and podcast, just like we're doing is the internet had gives everyone a voice. Then the downside to that is the internet gives everyone a voice. And that voice, even though it may be loud and flashy and interesting, may not always know what they're talking about. I, like I said, I've been in this for, gosh, I've been in broadcasting for more than 25 years, and um, was trained with an editorial process. So there's a way that I think and operate that is different than a lot of digital journalists and YouTubers and things like that. They don't have an editorial process. They don't necessarily have round table discussions. They can simply take to their microphone, turn on their camera and say what they want to say, and that's a great thing. But it's also sometimes, um, challenging when it's more sometimes about. Infotainment than information, and that's where you lose me. Just because of how I'm trained and the processes that I respect. There's a term that a lot of 'em will use about gatekeeping and I can look at models too, tell you what's happening and that's great. But a meteorologist will tell you that that forecasting goes into to understanding multiple models and finding consensus. And there's more to it than just seeing a picture that says, I think this model says in four days this hurricane's gonna hit here. Yeah, that's what it's telling you. But there are ways to collect that data, interpret it, and then find a way to present that to the public that is more of a A for a forecast. And I guess what I'm trying to say is there, I still rely on and believe in your local television stations, your local radio stations, the. Experience of meteorologists. It is exciting that so many people are interested in weather and I love it and I sitting here talking about this with you and being able to share our common interest in the weather. That's part of why I do this job and it attracts so many people. But I think for everybody listening, it's important to understand where your information comes from. And, and make wise choices just because a weather enthusiast may have all of the best intentions in the world and may have great resources and have a lot of likes and clicks, but you want to know that you're choosing sources that are gonna be there in those moments when you need them. And what different outlets and what different meteorologists have been tested over time with situations. And my hesitation with personality driven weather or personality driven weather coverage that you might find on YouTube is you're often just looking at one individual that may not even have a weather education or weather background. And that one person may not always be if you build the attachment and you say, this is what I'm going to, this is the person that I'm always gonna get my weather from. And you absolutely have the right to do that, but they may not be there. When you need them because they're just one person. So I still enjoy being a part of an organization. I still enjoy the editorial process where we can be in a room and question one another and make sure that we are presenting things in a way that are responsible, that are factual, that are not sensationalized and they're not about us. Um, journalism isn't about making yourself the star over the storm or the message you're trying to communicate. And so, um, I think that's what I subscribe to.

Kyle David: 1:02:03

Wow. A lot of good information there. Good insights with that. And I wanna take it actually back to your industry. And there have actually been a couple of instances, I can't tell you exactly which storm was, but it was either during Hurricane Helene or Dur, hurricane Milton. There were false stories circulating around about what was actually going on the ground. And you know, this is a common thing with a lot of different industries, misinformation kind of swirling around and it's hard for communicators to tackle that. So I'm curious, how do you combat informa misinformation and disinformation like that when covering the weather

Will Nunley: 1:02:43

By encouraging people to choose reputable sources like Weather Nation, like other major networks. I know people that work at every weather operation in this country and. Most of them, pretty much all of them are fantastic people. They care about their jobs that are responsible broadcasters that, again, have that editorial process. And I could even break it down to you like this. If you ask any doctor, what's the most frustrating thing about their job in the modern world, they'll tell you. WebMD. It's a great resource. But now if you feel like you know something and you feel like you have a symptom and oh, it's my back and I'm going to type in some search terms and I'm gonna make sure that WebMD gives me the answer that I'm wanting, well yeah, it's probably gonna spit out the answers that you won't, but that doesn't mean it's a real diagnosis because you don't know what you're talking about. Nor does WebMD. What the experience matters with the physician, with the doctor, with the scientist, with someone who can evaluate the situation objectively and help guide you through the process. The same applies to weather is, yes, if I want to understand what a weather model says, I can Google that, pull it up and make myself an interesting situation and post that irresponsibly to social media and start a narrative. But that still doesn't make it Fact, doesn't make it responsible, it also doesn't help anybody. So I, again, I don't wanna get into to naming any characters or why that process happens. It is rampant and I don't know that it's ever going to improve until people. See it for themselves, and they see that a lot of times if they were to do a comparison of what some of those images and what some of those hype posts say and then go back and fact check that a few weeks after the fact, did that forecast hold what was a few want to believe the worst in every potential developing tropical situation, there is a weather model that will paint that picture for you, but it doesn't always happen that way. So I think that I'm not one of these people that, that. Says that just because a media organization has been established for a long time, that they have some agenda or that they're wrong or that they're anything like that, that new media is the only answer. Far from it. Those organizations have been around for decades because they're responsible and trusted and have years of proof of performance to back that up. And so, um, anyone can put anything on the internet and claim to be whatever they want to be. And that's just the reality of where we are now. Not to go down that rabbit hole too far, but I trust our major organizations, I, I, when you have these brands that have 20, 30, 40 meteorologists working in the same building, they're not gonna allow themselves to make things up and give you irresponsible information. So no matter which channel you're watching, which I hope of course it's Weather Nation, that's always going to be my first home when it comes to real consequential weather.

Kyle David: 1:05:51

And that wraps up our final from the archive episode with Will Nunley. Thank you so much again to Will first time with making this episode happen. It was really interesting hearing from his experiences on covering the weather, especially covering Hurricane Katrina for Mississippi. Everybody focuses on the impact from New Orleans and Louisiana, but his perspective gave a little bit more to the. Deep dive that we've been doing on Hurricane Katrina across the on this day in weather history segments, and then as well as the special deep dive episode we did just a couple months ago. So thank you again to Will for sharing those experiences, what happened with Hurricane Katrina and the fun in his career, the ups and downs, and covering the weather and all the different things that he's gotten to experience in his career. And again, I just wanted to say thank you, the listeners, so much for listening to this podcast. Thank you to everybody who has given their time for talking about the weather and having some fun along the way and getting to talk about their stories in the weather world and outside of the weather world too. I've really enjoyed our conversations and I would not be here where I am today without the podcast. So thank you. Thank you so much for tuning in to the podcast. Thank you for supporting and thank you to all of the guests who we've had on to the pod. So thank you. Thank you so much for tuning into the podcast. Supporting the podcast, and don't stop supporting the podcast. Make sure you leave some reviews, leave comments. You can also reach out to me in the link in the show notes below. You could send a message to me, whatever you wanna share, your own weather experiences, your thoughts on the show or what you like to eat. I always like to hear from all the different listeners of the podcast, their experiences and what they like. So if you wanna reach out, there's a link in the show notes. Again, make sure you click that. You can reach out and send a message to me there. Again, thank you so much to all the people who I've had on the podcast. Thank you so much for giving me your time to talk about the weather and your stories. It's just really been fun talking with you, the guests, and then also sharing our passion for the weather with you, the listeners. Well, and this is not a permanent goodbye. This is just a see you letter, so please make sure you follow the podcast on all of our social media platforms. Don't stop sharing the podcast with your friends, family, anybody you know who likes to get into the weather. And also, again, that link is there always in the show notes of all of our episodes. So please feel free to reach out to me. I've seen a thing or two, I've been through a thing or two. I'm always happy to share my experiences as well. Alright, with that said, let's get into our final whether or not trivia. Now we'll have some fun questions, some weather related questions, some non weather related questions. And we'll also have a special question at the end and I'll get to that when we get to it. So with that said, let's get into it. Our first question is on lightning. There's a lightning phenomenon in Venezuela. Where for 140 to 160 nights a year, lightning flashes between 16 to 40 times per minute for almost a nine hour span. What is the name of this lightning? Is it a Cate Tombo Lightning, b Hector Lightning C, morning, glory, lightning, or D, remote Lake Lightning. So again, the question is, there's a lightning phenomenon in Venezuela for 140 to 160 nights a year. Lightning flashes between 16 to 40 times per minute for almost a nine hour span. What is the name of the Lightning? Is a Kaumba Lightning. Hector Lightning Morning Glory Lightning or Remote Lake Lightning. I'll give you a couple more seconds to think about the answer. Choice and Time's up on this one. The correct answer is Kaumba Lightning. And I, I included Hector Lightning in there. For those that know a little bit too about the weather, there's actually a permanent storm that sets up very frequently off the coast of Australia called Hector. They've named the thunderstorm that forms their every day like clockwork, Hector. So it was a little trick question or trick answer there with Hector Lightning, but I encourage you to go read a little bit more about Hector the thunderstorm.'cause that is a little interesting to see. A thunderstorm forms that same spot every single day. And then the CAD tuma lightning is also very interesting as well. All right. Next question up is related to farming. While it is known as the Peach State, Georgia is also the nation's largest producer of what legume that is also the state crop. Is it a lentils B peas? C, peanuts or D soybeans. Again, this is farming what is known as, while it is known as the peach state, Georgia is also the nation's largest producer of what Lagoon that is. Also the state crop. Is it lentils, peas, peanuts, or soybeans? And the time is up on this one, the correct answer. Peanuts. I always thought that peach was the state crop of Georgia, but now you've learned a thing or two about Georgia as well. All right. Next question is related to weather instruments. What is the name of the weather instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure? Is it A, an anemometer, B, a thermometer, C, a, hygrometer, or D? A barometer. Again, it's related to weather instruments. What is the name of the weather instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure? Is an anemometer, a thermometer, a ter, or a barometer? And with that, the time is up. On this one, the correct answer is a barometer. A hydrometer is used to measure the moisture in the atmosphere, how humid it is, thermometer for temperature and an anemometer for wind speed. And there's actually different anemometers too. You can also have the, you can, you can have the spinning cups. That's the famous example of an anemometer. There's also a stationary anemometer that just measures the air moving between the two needles or the two sets of needles that are spaced between each other, which that one's pretty cool, but it also very expensive. So very cool weather instruments that are out there in the weather world. Alright, next question up is related to space and sports. It's kind of a mix of the two. What is the only sport that has been played on the moon? Is it a football, B, golf, C, baseball, or D bowling? Again, this is a space slash sports related question. A mix of the two. What is the only sport that has been played on the moon? Was it football, golf, baseball, or bowling? And with that, the time is up. The correct answer is golf. I figured, you know, we probably would've played football on the moon, but golf I think is a good sport as well. And it's also bringing back to my grandfather, one of my grandfather's, my pop-ups favorite sports as well. So this is kind of a question that honors him in a little bit in a way. And also the space nerds that are out there listening to the Weather podcast. All right, next question is related to weather scales. What weather phenomenon does the Bufort scale measure? Is it a atmospheric pressure, B, humidity, C, wind speed, or D temperature? Again, this is on weather scales. What weather phenomenon does the Bufort scale measure? Is it atmospheric pressure, humidity, wind speed, or temperature? And with that, the time is up. The correct answer is wind speed. That Bufort scale measures wind speeds. Now this last question that's coming up is a special one that also like to dedicate to my grandfather. He was a longtime Long Beach Island native. So in honor of him, I'm going to make this question, long Beach Island themed. Long Beach Island is an island on the coast of New Jersey. For those that do not know, but here is the question on it. What nickname is commonly used to refer to the Bart Whitehouse on Long Beach Island, New Jersey? Is it a old Barney, the big Red C, the Watchtower, or d Jersey Beacon? Again, this is a Long Beach Island themed question on one of the most iconic landmarks in New Jersey and on the East coast. What nickname is commonly used to refer to the Bart Lighthouse on Long Beach Island? Is it old Barney? Big Red, the Watchtower or Jersey Beacon? And with that, the time is up. The correct answer is Old Barney. You may not have heard the name Old Barney you, but you've probably seen pictures of the Bar Playhouse. It's probably one of the most famous lighthouses in New Jersey and probably on the East Coast, or at least that last part is in my opinion, uh, it varies from person to person, but it's a iconic lighthouse on the Jersey shore and on the East coast. And with that said, that brings us to the end of our weather or not trivia. Again, thank you so much to you, the listener for listening to the podcast. Thank you to all the people who have supported the podcast along the way. And thank you to everybody who has been on the podcast so far. Thank you to you all for your support on the podcast. And this is not goodbye. This is. See you later. So we'll catch you on the next episode.